Supes slog through General Plan's Biological Resources section

The Humboldt County Board of Supervisors decided to review the entirety of the General Plan's Biological Resources section of the Conservation and Open Space Elements rather than the short list that had drawn several members of the public to its Monday meeting.

During its nearly five-hour meeting, the board straw voted on eight of the 34 policies, goals, standards and implementation measures in the section, with public comment encompassing nearly half the time. The section lays out the county's protection and conservation measures related to the county's biological resources such as wildlife, fisheries and wildlife habitats.

A large portion of the meeting addressed sections supervisors have yet to vote on: setbacks and buffers for wetlands and streamside management areas, which are defined as "a natural resource area along both sides of streams containing the channel and adjacent land," according to the county Planning and Building Department.

While the state and federal governments have their own restrictions and codes on these areas, County Counsel Wendy Chaitin said the county has the decision for determining how far a setback or buffer can be.

"It's the jurisdiction of the county to determine what the setback would be," she said. "The county doesn't have to do what Fish and Wildlife recommends."

Third District Supervisor Lovelace said that having defined setback and buffer lengths would make it easier for both the landowner, and for the state to approve of their policies.

"They're far less likely to intervene," he said.

California Department of Fish and Wildlife scientist Mike van Hattem said they are "not out to get property" and that creating a set length for a setback area would help developers in the long run.

"What we try to do is provide recommendations," van Hattem said. "The county can completely ignore us, at your own peril. If you give someone a set distance, it's something to work with."

With the current Planning Commission recommending to eliminate setback length requirements for wetlands, Friends of the Eel River Executive Director Scott Greacen said this would have a great effect on the wildlife these buffers are working to protect.

"You have to think about what impacts it would have on the GPU and the EIR (environmental impact report) to adopt a policy like this one that would allow a lot more impacts," he said. "It would mean the EIR would have to be rewritten. I don't think that's in the interest of Humboldt County' fisheries and Humboldt County's people."

Kent Sawatzky of Blue Lake said to "stick with what you have in your Framework Plan" and "change as little as possible."

Humboldt County Board of Realtors representative Tina Christensen said the board should add in other protections that look beyond property development.

"Our streams and waterways are impacted by the marijuana industry," she said. "It's not just someone building house next to it."

The board moved through the majority of the eight policies with little discussion or adding a single word or two for clarification and ended all discussions with a unanimous straw vote.

A topic that was not on the board's short list was wetland identification, but several members of the public voiced concern that it would affect agricultural lands and potential development.

Van Hattem said his department's site inspectors are not going to arbitrarily label areas as wetlands.

"We're not in the business of calling out tiny tire tracks filled with water," Van Hattem said. "The methodology is determined by the Army Corps of Engineers. The difference is that we recognize a more protective wetland definition."

Fifth District Supervisor Ryan Sundberg said the plan should address these concerns.

"Some things turn into wetlands that typically don't turn into wetlands," he said. "I'd like to have a more practical plan. Some other kind of definition that deals with these practical problems."

At the end of the discussion, the board unanimously voted that wetland identification "by a qualified professional shall be required when wetland characterization and limits cannot be easily inventoried and identified by site inspection."

The discussion of the section will continue at the board's next General Plan Update meeting on July 14.